Holsten Real Estate and Kenard Corporation for North Town Village

Hailed as an innovative and visionary mixed-income community that dramatically advances the CHA’s 10-year, $1.6 billion “Plan for Transformation,” North Town Village–developed by Holsten Real Estate Development Corp. and Kenard Corp.–is helping to turn the area occupied by the partially dismantled, blighted Cabrini-Green public housing complex on the city’s Near North Side into a neighborhood of choice for people from all walks of life. A prototype for the CHA’s plan to replace its high-rise buildings with mixed-income neighborhoods, the 261-unit complex on North Halsted Street offers both rental and for-sale residences, with 30% of the homes reserved for public-housing families, 20% for low-income working families and 50% for market-rate renters or buyers. The developers’ measures of success were informed through a close dialogue with local residents, especially residents of Cabrini-Green. Importantly, in addition to emphasizing architectural detailing that integrates the development into the neighborhood, North Town provides full-time jobs for CHA residents and sponsors on-site social events and a residents’ association to promote interaction among the new neighbors. North Town Village has already won numerous accolades, including a 2001 Illinois Tomorrow Award for promoting “balanced growth for a better quality of life.” Recognizing the project’s significance as a new way to foster a racially and economically integrated community, it is therefore also a fitting tribute to recognize North Town Village as this year’s Outstanding For-Profit Real Estate Development Project.